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'Everybody likes to buy things but no one lies likes to be sold' is not a new expression, but what does it really mean? Does it mean that people don't [...]

Once-thriving businesses are struggling to survive in today's slow economy. Many are making spending decisions based on 'What can I afford?' rather than 'Where can I invest my money to [...]

A wise man once explained 'we never learn anything with our mouth open. We can only learn by reading, by listening, by observing and by doing.' If you are like [...]

Do your customers call you with leads? Have they already convinced their friends to buy the products before you even make the first sales call? For the quality salesperson who [...]

Selling today is filled with contradictions. E-mail enhances our connectivity, but the number of e-mail messages is often so overwhelming, they go unanswered. Voice mail brings us together, but voice […]

Positive customer relationships are the basis of much distributor business, right? Positive business relationships ensure us an audience with the customer, make every step of the selling process go easier, […]

The Acme Widget Company needed to increase revenue and profits, so they undertook an initiative to attract new customers. They launched a new advertising campaign and offered special deals to […]

It's a common mindset. The field sales person wants every communication with the customer to go through him/her. In other words, instead of calling customer service with a problem, the […]

It's Tuesday and I'm meeting with an executive for a large equipment organization. It's an interesting conversation, as it's indicated the sales force is very busy with customers wanting equipment, […]

The most successful companies place great value on developing lifetime relationships with their customers. In today's competitive marketplace, they are aware that their customers are aggressively prospected and their loyalty […]

How many times have you referred a restaurant to a friend? Think about why you made that referral ... was it the food or the service? Maybe it was both, […]

"Your price is too high!" The infamous price objection. Wouldn't sales be a great profession if we could somehow wipe it out and never hear it again? Unfortunately, that will […]

Let's put it all behind us." These few words capture Americans' unquenchable optimism. If there's a roadblock, we go around it and no hurdle is ever too high. Nothing stops […]

Marketing used to be fairly straightforward: Throw money at advertising in order to influence people to buy your products and services. If your advertising campaign was decent, the resulting sales […]

As the wind of economic cycles blows hard, some businesses try to contain costs by cutting corners on customer service. This is exactly the wrong thing to do, because service […]

Building rapport with customers is like squirting oil into gears. Imagine some gears grinding together. When you squirt lubricating oil into the gears, you reduce the friction and make everything […]

Today's marketplace is about building relationships and learning how you can spend your resources wisely so those who are predisposed to buying your products and services step forward. Unfortunately, many […]

The most successful companies place great value on developing lifetime relationships with their customers. In today's competitive marketplace, they're aware that their customers are aggressively prospected and their loyalty cannot […]

Today's business environment is becoming increasingly complex and competitive due to globalization, new technology, increasing product proliferation, brand erosion, market segmentation, consumer skepticism and time poverty, rendering traditional business plans […]

Warning! This isn't about dumping on salespeople or blaming them for failing to meet their "numbers." If that's what you're looking for, this won't help you. Understandably, the pressure to […]

No one looks forward to an encounter with an angry or difficult customer. Most of us can't help but feel emotionally impacted by an upset customer. An ugly incident can […]

Running out of customers is far worse than running out of gas. We can always find a way to get a can of gas. But finding more customers is different. […]

Mark is the store manager in a large retail store. Though times are tough, he has not had to lay off any employees and his results continue to grow. How […]

I have great relationships with my customers." That is one of the most debilitating myths around--one that cripples the performance of the average corporate salesperson. And, yet, it is endemic […]

The competition grows greater every day as new businesses pop up on every corner and online shopping becomes more of a mainstream point of purchase. Business owners across the country […]

I know a neighborhood hardware store where they never have sales. They don't offer frequent-buyer cards, easy credit terms or free coffee and doughnuts on Saturday mornings. The shelves are […]

What really drives people to do business with you? You may think it's your expertise, product knowledge, great service, or even competitive pricing. Sure these are all important, but in […]

Progressive companies understand the power of cross-selling and recognize it as a critical component for promoting both customer retention and revenue growth. What is cross-selling? Cross-selling is nothing more than […]

The most important thing in sales and marketing is to attract and retain your most profitable business customers. In order to accomplish this feat, you must devise and implement a […]

Value-added services are everywhere. The dealership where you take your car for servicing now offers free loaner vehicles. The manufacturer of disposable contact lenses now gets them to you via […]

A by-product of helping others to achieve focus and direction is that your own focus and directions improve as well. A young medical equipment salesperson named Randy was only a […]

We have all had the experience of throwing a stone in a pond and watching the waves ripple across the surface in ever expanding, concentric circles. Just as a ripple […]

I have been hearing at an increasing rate that "customer loyalty is dead." "People are only interested in finding the best price and the individual company, store or salesperson no […]